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Ed and Lorraine Warren
Edward "Ed" Warren Miney (September 7, 1926 - August 23, 2006) and Lorraine Rita Warren (née Moran, born January 31, 1927) were American paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting, or inhuman presence. Ed was a World War II United States Navy veteran and former police officer who became a self-taught demonologist, author, and lecturer. His wife Lorraine is a professed clairvoyant and a light trance medium who worked closely with her husband. The Warrens have a daughter named Judy. In 1952, the Warrens founded the New England Society for Psychic Research, the oldest ghost hunting group in New England. They are the authors of numerous books about the paranormal and private investigations into various reports of paranormal activity. They claimed to have investigated over 10,000 cases in their entire career. Ed and Lorraine were among the very first investigators in the controversial Amityville haunting. According to the Warrens, the N.E.S.P.R. utilizes a variety of individuals, including medical doctors, researchers, police officers, nurses, college students, and members of the clergy in its investigations. The Warrens were responsible for training several demonologists including Dave Considine, Lou Gentile, and their nephew John Zaffis. In addition to all the investigations, Lorraine currently runs The Warren's Occult Museum in the back of her house in Monroe, Connecticut with the help of her son-in-law, Tony Spera. Famous Investigations * AMITYVILLE The Warrens are best known for their involvement in the 1976 Amityville Horror case in which New York couple George and Kathy Lutz claimed that their house was haunted by a violent, demonic presence so badly intense that it had apparently drove them out of their home. The Amityville Horror Conspiracy ''authors Stephen and Roxanne Kaplan characterized and believed this case to be a "hoax". Lorraine Warren later told a news reporter that the Amityville Horror case was not a hoax at all, the Amityville Horror was the basis for the 1977 book and the 1979 and 2005 films of the same name. * '''DEMON MURDER' In 1981, Arne Johnson was accused of killing his landlord, Alan Bono. Ed and Lorraine had been called prior to the killing to deal with the alleged demonic possession of the younger brother of Johnson's fiancée. The Warrens would later claim that Johnson was also possessed. While at trial, Johnson attempted to plead Not Guilty by Reason of Demonic Possession, but was unsuccessful with his plea. The case was later described in the 1983 book The Devil in Connecticut ''by Gerald Brittle. * '''WEREWOLF' In 1991, the Warren's book Werewolf: The True Story of Demonic Possession ''was published in which they claim to have exorcised a "werewolf demon". * '''ANNABELLE' According to the Warrens, in 1970, two roommates claimed their Raggedy Ann doll was possessed by the spirit of a young girl named Annabelle Higgins. The Warrens then took the doll, telling the roommates it was "being manipulated by an inhuman presence", and put it on display in their Occult Museum at their home in Connecticut, where it remains today. Annabelle served as the inspiration for the 2014 film Annabelle. * SMURL FAMILY Pennsylvania residents Jack and Janet Smurl reported that their home was being disturbed by various supernatural phenomena, including sounds, smells, and even apparitions. The Warrens soon became involved and claimed that the Smurl home was occupied by three spirits as well as a demon that allegedly sexually assaulted both Jack and Janet. The Smurls' version of their story is told in the 1986 paperback entitled The Haunting, ''and it is also depicted in the 1991 TV movie of the same name, directed by Robert Mandel. * '''PERRON FAMILY' In 1971, the Warrens claimed that the Harrisville, Rhode Island, home of the Perron family was haunted by Bathsheba Sherman, a witch who lived there in the early 19th century. According to Ed and Lorraine, Bathsheba cursed the land so that whoever lived there somehow died. The story of the Perron family served as the subject of the 2013 film The Conjuring, ''which Lorraine herself had a cameo in. A reporter for ''USA Today covered the film's supposed grounding in sympathetic facts. The current owner of the home has collected her own research, and has worked with several investigators refuting the stories of witchcraft and tragic deaths at the home. * STEPNEY CEMETERY The Warrens believed that Stepney Cemetery was haunted by a "white lady" ghost. This cemetery is Ed's current resting place. * THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT In 1986, the Warrens arrived and proclaimed the Snedeker house, a former funeral home thought to be infested by demons. This case was widely featured in the 1992 book In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting. ''A TV movie soon covered the story as apart of the Discovery Channel series ''A Haunting, ''which was produced in 2002. The film is loosely based on the true events, it was directed by Prior Corn, and was released in 2009. * '''THE ENFIELD POLTERGEIST' In 1977, Ed and Lorraine visited a home in Enfield, England that was allegedly haunted by a poltergeist. The case was awarded a lot of media coverage, and some people believe that it was a hoax. The case was later featured in a 2015 Sky Atlantic series titled The Enfield Haunting ''starring Timothy Spall. This case will also be the subject of the 2016 sequel to James Wan's ''The Conjuring ''(2013). Criticisms The Warren's most famous case, the Amityville Horror, has been question by a lot of critics. According to Benjamin Radford, the story was "refuted by eyewitnesses, investigations and forensic evidence." By 1979, lawyer William Weber reportedly stated that he, Jay Anson and the occupants "invented" the horror story "over many bottles of wine". Horror author Ray Garton, who wrote an account of the alleged haunting of the Snedeker family in Southington, Connecticut, would later call into question the veracity of the accounts contained in this book, saying: "The family involved, which was going through some serious problems like alcoholism and drug addiction, could not keep their story straight, and I became very frustrated; it's hard writing a non-fiction book when all the people involved are telling you different stories." Bibliography Ed and Lorraine Warren have written and are featured in a number of non-fiction books, including: Written by - * ''Ghost Hunters: True Stories From the World's Most Famous Demonologists by Ed Warren (St. Martin's Press, 1989) ISBN 0-312-03353-2 * Ghost Tracks by Cheryl A. Wicks with Ed and Lorraine Warren (AuthorHouse, 2004) ISBN 1-4184-6767-7 * Graveyard: True Hauntings from an Old New England Cemetery by Ed Warren (St Martins Press, 1992) ISBN 0-312-08202-9 * The Haunted: The True Story of One Family's Nightmare by Robert Curran with Jack Smurl and Janet Smurl and Ed and Lorraine Warren (St. Martin's Press, 1988) ISBN 0-312-01440-6 * Satan's Harvest by Michael Lasalandra and Mark Merenda with Maurice and Nancy Theriault and Ed and Lorraine omg I freaking lovvvvvvvveeeeeWarren (Dell, 1990) ISBN 0-440-20589-1 * Werewolf: A tory of Demonic Possession by Ed Warren (St. Martin's Press, 1991) ISBN 0-312-06493-4 Featured in - * Deliver Us From Evil: Taken from the files of Ed and Lorraine Warren, by J. F. Saywer (Phillips Publishing Company, PO Box 141, Westfield, Mass, 01085; Copyright 1973 by J. F Sawyer) * The Amityville Horror, a True Story by Jay Anson (Prentice Hall, 1977) * The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed and Lorraine Warren by Gerald Brittle (Berkley Books, 1980) * The Devil in Connecticut by Gerald Brittle (Bantam Books, 1983) ISBN 0-553-23714-4 * In A Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting by Ray Garton (Villard, 1992) ISBN 0-394-58902-5 * True Haunting of Borley Rectory: Seekers of the Supernatural presents Conversations of Ed & Lorraine Warren - The original Ghostbusters * Satan's Harvest Known Media Appearances * Lorraine was featured in several episodes of the Discovery series A Haunting, in which she discusses some of the cases the pair worked on as paranormal investigators.13 * Lorraine also appeared on Paranormal State, where she acted as a guest investigator.14 * Both Ed and Lorraine have appeared on Scariest Places on Earth. * Lorraine has a cameo appearance in the 2013 film The Conjuring, where she is also credited as a consultant. * Lorraine is visited during the 2012 documentary film My Amityville Horror, where she reunites with Daniel Lutz, whose family was plagued by supernatural happenings in 1975. Ed and Lorraine Warren originally visited the house after the Lutz family fled the house after 29 days of occupancy. Portrayal in Film In the 2013 film The Conjuring, ''Ed and Lorraine are portrayed by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Wilson was famous for his work in ''Insidious ''(2010), ''Watchmen ''(2009), and ''Little Children ''(2006). Farmiga is famous for her work in ''Up in the Air ''(2009), ''Orphan (''2009), and ''Down to the Bone ''(2004). Lorraine grew close to both actors on the set of The Conjuring, and Patrick and Vera are set to reprise their roles in the 2016 sequel to The Conjuring, ''The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist, set in another true case that Ed and Lorraine really investigated. The Warren's Occult Museum Ed Warren passed away in August 2006 of natural causes. Though her husband is gone, Lorraine has continued to help people in the New England area and all across the world. During or after each investigation, Ed and Lorraine would either help the people by taking an object that was causing them harm with paranormal phenomena away, or collect an object they used from each case and store them in a room in their house now known as The Warren's Occult Museum. The room if filled with haunted objects or anything that was used in satanic rituals, or to summon inhuman spirits. Today, Lorraine Warren, now 88, runs the museum in the back of her house in Monroe, Connecticut with the help of her son-in-law, Tony Spera. When visitors come to the museum, they're urged not to touch anything. The museum is blessed by a priest twice a month. For information on visiting hours, go to www.warrens.net.